1. Joint Ventures. Stephanie Lewis, Size Specialist. U. S
Joint Ventures Stephanie Lewis, Size Specialist U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Government Contracting
(817)

2. What is a small business?
Organized for profit
Place of Business in the U.S., operates primarily in the U.S., or makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy (taxes, use of American products/labor)
Does not exceed the small business revenue OR employee size standard for the procurement
Each North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code has a small business size standard (wholesale and retail NAICS are not used in government procurements).
13 CFR

3. NAICS Codes and Size Standards
NAICS Description Revenue (M) # employees
Industrial Building Construction $33.5
Commercial and Institutional Building Construction $33.5
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction $33.5
Women’s and Girls’ Cut and Sew Blouse and Shirt Mfg 500
Quick Printing
Truck Trailer Manufacturing
Wood Office Furniture Manufacturing
General Freight Trucking, Local $25.5
Couriers and Express Delivery Services
General Warehousing and Storage $25.5
Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings $7.0
Custom Computer Programming Services $25.0
Other Computer Related Services $25.0
Information Technology Value Added Resellers 500
Admin Management and General MGMT Consulting Svcs $7.0
Environmental Consulting Services $7.0

4. Size must include affiliates
What is an affiliate?
When one controls or has the power to control another
Common ownership
Common control
Common management
Identity of Interest (family members, common investments, dependant through contractual relationships)
A Newly organized concern
Joint Ventures
13 CFR

5. Average Annual Receipts
Use Federal Tax Returns
Cost of Goods Sold plus Total Income
Average of last three completed fiscal years
13 CFR

6. Number of Employees
Count all individuals employed on a full-time, part-time, or other basis. This includes employees obtained from a temporary employee agency, professional employee organization or leasing concern.
Numbers of employees for each of the pay periods for the preceding completed 12 calendar months(running average).
Payroll records/IRS Form 941
13 CFR

7. Two Types of Affiliation
General Affiliation
On-going basis
Common ownership, common control, economic dependence, etc.
Applies to the company in all business transactions
For a specific procurement
Joint venture
Applies only to the contract at hand

8. Joint Ventures
A joint venture is an association of individuals and/or concerns with interests in any degree or proportion consorting to engage in and carry out no more than three specific or limited-purpose business ventures for joint profit over a two year period, for which purpose they combine their efforts, property, money, skill, or knowledge, but not on a continuing or permanent basis for conducting business generally.
The joint venture entity cannot be awarded submit more than three contracts over a two year period, starting from the date of the submission of the first offer or will be determined to have a general affiliation (3-in-2 rule).
13 CFR (h)

9. Joint Ventures
The same two (or more) entities may create additional joint ventures, and each new joint venture entity may be awarded up to three contracts.
ABC-XYZ JV
ABC-XYZ 1
ABC-XYZ 2
However, such a longstanding inter-relationship or contractual dependence between the same joint venture partners will lead to a finding of general affiliation between them.

10. Joint Ventures must be in writing
A joint venture must:
be in writing
do business under its own name.
It may (but need not):
be in the form of a separate legal entity, and if it is a separate legal entity it may (but need not) be populated (i.e., have its own separate employees).

11. Joint Ventures vs Teaming Agreements
A Teaming Agreement can be either a joint venture or a prime/sub relationship

12. Joint Venture vs. Prime/Sub Relationship
SBA affiliation regulations purposely do not define “teams” or “teaming agreements”
Joint Ventures
Formal joint venture (Separate legal entity, such as LLC)
Informal (no new entity formed)
Prime Subcontractor Relationships

13. Teaming Arrangement: FAR 9.601
“Contractor team arrangement,” as used in this subpart, means an arrangement in which—
Two or more companies form a partnership or joint venture to act as a potential prime contractor;
A potential prime contractor agrees with one or more other companies to have them act as its subcontractors under a specified Government contract or acquisition program.

14. What are the Benefits?
General benefit for all concerns both large and small:
The joint or team is able to compete for larger more technically complex contracts by combining the capabilities and past performance of various team members.
FAR 9.601

15. Joint Venture Size Exemptions
General Rule
A joint venture is a small business concern when the combined revenue/employees of all joint venture partners do not exceed the small business size standard.

16. JV Size Exemption for “Large” Procurements
If:
The procurement is bundled; or
It is a “large” procurement
For a procurement having a receipts based size standard, the dollar value of the procurement exceeds ½ the size standard; or
For a procurements having an employee based size standard, the dollar value of the procurement exceeds $10 million.
Then, the joint venture is small if each joint venture partner is small.

17. Ostensible Subcontracting
More of a joint venture than a prime-subcontractor relationship

18. What is an Ostensible Subcontractor?
The acid test:
A subcontractor is an ostensible subcontractor if:
The subcontractor performs the primary and vital requirements, or
The prime contractor is unusually or unduly reliant upon the subcontractor.
A contractor and its ostensible subcontractor are treated as joint venturers, and therefore affiliates, for size determination purposes.
13 CFR (h)(4)

19. What will be used to determine if Teaming Agreement is a JV?
Language Used in the Teaming Agreement
Proposal wording
Other circumstances:
Reliance on Bonding
Who is in control/managing contract
Division of work (clear delineation)
Role in pursuit of contract
Whether subcontractor was the incumbent
“7 factor test” no longer used.

20. What is an Ostensible Subcontractor?
Recent Case on Affiliation and Ostensible Subcontractors – Griffin_v.pdf
Morris‐Griffin v. C&L Service Corporation, 2010 WL (E.D. Va)
Large HUD loan processing company teamed with janitorial 8(a) company to win 8(a) set-aside contact to process loans for HUD – found to have fraudulently circumvented the SBA rules by using a nominal 8(a) contractor.

21. Points for Prime/Sub Relationships
Agencies may consider an offeror’s subcontractor’s capabilities and experience under relevant evaluation factors where the RFP does not prohibit the consideration of a subcontractor’s experience in the evaluation of proposals (Roca Management Education & Training, Inc., January 15, 2004, GAO, B ).
The prime contractor is solely responsible for meeting all contract requirements, including the Limitations on Subcontracting percentage
Must watch out for Ostensible Subcontractor relationship with its subcontractor(s)

22. Limitations on Subcontracting
Apply to cooperative efforts of the joint venture entity.
Applies to full or partial small business set-aside contract, an 8(a) contract, a WOSB or EDWOSB
Supplies: 50% cost of manufacturing excl mat’l
Services: 50% with its own employees
General Construction: 15% with its own employees
Specialty Construction 25% with its own employees
13 CFR 125.6

23. Provisions for 8(a) contractors
8(a) Joint Ventures
8(a) Mentor Protégé size exemption
8(a) competitive contracts size exemption

24. 8(a) Points for Joint Ventures
For 8a contracts, the formal joint venture must be approved by SBA.
For other contracts (i.e., SBSA, HUBZone set-aside), SBA does not need to approve the joint venture prior to award, but if the size status of the joint venture is protested, the provisions of §§ (c) and (d) will apply.
(c) – joint venture content requirements
(d) – performance of work requirements

25. 8(a) competitive procurements
For competitive 8(a) procurements, the joint venture is considered small so long as:
Each JV partner is small under the size standard for the procurement, and;
The size of at least one 8(a) member of the joint venture must be less than ½ the size standard for the procurement; and
It is a “large” procurement as shown on slide 16.

26. Limitations on Subcontracting
Anytime an 8(a) firm participates in a joint venture, the 8(a) partner to the joint venture must submit a report to its servicing SBA district office explaining how the applicable performance of work requirements were met for the contract, after the contract is complete.

27. 8a Performance of Work Reqmnts.
In an unpopulated JV, the 8a partners must perform at least 40% of the work performed by the JV
40% cannot just be administrative functions
13 CFR (d)

28. 8(a) Mentor Protégé Agreement
For joint venture between 8(a) protégé and SBA approved mentor:
The joint venture is considered small so long as the 8(a) protégé is small for the procurement.
13 CFR (b)(3)
The joint venture may bid as a small business on any federal prime or subcontract.
13 CFR (h)(3)(iii)

29. 8(a) Mentor Protégé Must have a joint venture
Must have a joint venture with all the elements of 13 CFR (c)
Must meet the performance of work requirements in 13 CFR (d)
If an 8a procurement, JV agreement must be approved by SBA

30. Provisions for HUBZones

31. HUBZone Joint Ventures
A HUBZone may only joint venture ONLY with another HUBZone concern (even applies to mentors).
The JV itself need not be certified as a HUBZone concern.
If it is a “large” procurement, it can qualify as small as long as each HUBZone parnter is small for the NAICS code assigned to the procurement.

32. HUBZone Limitations on Subcontracting
The aggregate of the HUBZone partners or HUBZone subcontractors must perform the applicable percentage of work required by 13 CFR
see 13 CFR for application for general and specialty construction contractors.
13 CFR 126.7

33. HUBZone Mentor Protégé
A HUBZone may enter into a Mentor-Protégé Agreement
The mentor and protégé will not be found affiliated on the basis of the Mentor-Protégé Agreement when it is a Federally –approved Mentor Protégé relationship.
The HUBZone that is a prime contractor on a HUBZone contract may team with and subcontract work to its mentor. The mentor may not perform the primary and vital requirements of the contract.

34. Non-Manufacturing
Non-manufacturing waivers are not granted for HUBZone procurements.

35. Provisions for SDV procurements

36. Provisions for SDVets
A SDV may enter into a JV Agreement with one or more other small businesses for purposes of a SDV contract
For JV partners are affiliated unless it is a “large” procurement.
The JV Agreement must comply with (b)(2) – the required contents of a SDV joint venture agreement
The JV must perform the percentage of work requirements in 13 CFR 125.6

37. Limitations on Subcontracting
A SDV can fulfill the Limitations on Subcontracting requirements by using other SDV subcontractors

38. Provisions for ED/WOSBs

39. EDWOSB or WOSB Joint Ventures
For JV partners are affiliated unless it is a “large” procurement.
The EDWOSB or WOSB participant must be designated in CCR and ORCA as an EDWOSB or WOSB.
There must be a written joint venture provided to the Contracting Officer that contains the elements of 13 CFR
The JV must perform the applicable percentage of work in 13 CFR 125.6

40. Where Can I Find the CFR http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov
Federal Regulations (CFR) on-line:
Size regulations CFR Part 121
8(a) & SDB regulations CFR Part 124
Government Contracting Programs – 13 CFR Part 125.6
HUBZone Program – 13 CFR Part 126
Service Disabled Veteran Program – 13 CFR 125
Women-Owned Small Business Program-13 CFR 127